Jacob's Love:

by Timothy G. Ruffin

As he stood by the well, Jacob’s heart fell—Rachel, the daughter of Laban, was beautiful in form, her appearance was warm, and the second he saw her, true love was born.

They kiss and they cry, it’s an emotional high; Jacob would love her immensely until the day that he died.

… Close the curtains and roll the credits…

Right? Wrong.

This makes for a great love story, but this is not real life.

True love requires work.

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After this beautiful scene, Rachel tells her father about the man of her dreams (Genesis 29:11).

Jacob is welcomed into their home, he works for a month, and at the end of the month, Laban, Rachel’s father, has an offer.

“Should you serve me for nothing? He says, “Tell me what your wages shall be (Genesis 29:15).”

Jacob loved his youngest daughter, Rachel, and so he says,

“I will serve you seven years for your daughter, Rachel (Genesis 29:18).”

To some, this seems excessive, but to Jacob it was well worth it.

Laban says,

“It is better that I give her to you, than that I should give her to any other man; stay with me.”

“So,” verse 20 says,

“Jacob served seven years for Rachel, and they seemed to him but a few days because of the love that he had for her.”, Genesis 29:19-20

How sweet is that?

Good things come to those who wait.

Or, should I say: Good things come to those who love.

Today, I’m not going to write to you about being patient and persistent for the woman that you love, though that goes a long way, however, I want to examine Jacob’s motivation to serve.

Jacob was motivated to serve for seven whole years because of the ceaseless love that he had for Rachel.

In spite of the time, difficulty, and attention required to serve, Jacob’s service seemed as nothing, for he was a man immensely inspired by love.

As we consider our current crisis, as Christians, we understand we must remain faithful to God (Revelation 2:10b), we understand we must stay focused on the prize (Philippians 3:12-16), and we know that we must substitute faith for fear (2 Timothy 1:7), but we also know, such a life is easier spoken than lived.

It’s easy to talk about faith, focus, and courage when everything is swell, but when the silent killer claims thousands and thousands of lives, we are not so well.

The question is: What will it take?

What will it take to stay faithful?

What does it take to stay strong?

How can we endure the trials of life after having suffered ‘o so long?

Like Jacob: Love.

Love the Lord, love others, love yourself, and allow others to love you.

Make yourself vulnerable to love.

It was love that motivated Jacob to work seven arduous years for the woman of his dreams, may love motivate you to stay faithful in this crisis, to Jesus, the King.

If we aspire to live with our heads held high, then love will be our motivation until the day that we die.

Love: Do this and live.

Do this and be comforted.

Do this, and the long and difficult road that is ahead, will only seem like a few short days...

Moses and Christ

by Jeff Curtis

The lives of Moses and Jesus Christ have several similarities. The Bible invites us to compare the two, especially in view of the fact that Moses said, “God will raise up for you a prophet like me” (Deut. 18:15), a passage fulfilled by the coming of Jesus (Acts 3:22; John 1:21-25; 6:14; 7:40). What can we learn from these comparisons?

Both Moses and Jesus were born at times of persecution. When we read about the decree of Pharaoh to kill all the male babies in Egypt, our minds jump to another time that this happened – the time when Herod issued an order to have all boys two years and under be put to death (Matt. 2:16). In both situations, God’s messenger – with God’s help – escaped death. When Moses was born, the Egyptian ruler was attempting to kill all the Hebrews’ baby boys. Not long after Jesus was born, the Judean ruler Herod attempted to kill all the male children of Israel. Both Moses and Jesus escaped death, with God’s help.

Both Moses and Jesus lived exemplary lives. Both are spoken of as “humble” (Num. 12:3; Matt. 11:28-30). Both loved their people, gave up personal glory for them, and interceded on their behalf (Exodus 32:11-14; Matt. 23:37-39; John 17).

Of course, there are differences. While Moses lived an admirable life (Heb. 11:23-29), he was guilty of sin (Exod. 2:11-15; Numbers 20:1-13). Jesus, in contrast, lived a sinless life (Heb. 4:15). Moses offered to bear the guilt of the people – an offer the God refused (Exod. 32:32). Yet, Jesus could and could and did bear the sins of people. He did this not for the Jews only, but for all people (Matt. 26:28; 2Cor. 5:21).

Both Moses and Jesus were God’s Spokesman. Through Moses came the Law (John 1:17); but when Jesus came, He became God’s spokesman (Heb. 1:1-2; John 3:34; 7:16-18). In one sense, Christ is the giver of a new law (Gal. 6:2), even though He didn’t institute a “legalistic” system. The two laws were given in different ways; one came through Moses, from a mountain on fire (Heb. 12:18-24); the other was given as Jesus taught quietly from the top of another mountain (Matt. 5-7). Today, we hear Christ rather than Moses (Matt. 17:15; John 1:17; Heb. 1:1-2).

Both Moses and Christ delivered God’s People. Moses came as the great deliverer, the messenger God used to deliver His people out of slavery. Christ also came as a deliverer, to free mankind from the slavery of sin (Luke 19:10; John 8:32). Moses accomplished his task (in part) by sacrificing unblemished lambs (Exod. 12); and Christ accomplished His work by sacrificing Himself (John 10:15-18).

Both Moses and Jesus received a heavenly reward for faithful service. We can’t doubt Moses’ eternal salvation, since he appeared with Jesus at His transfiguration. In a similar way, Jesus, after His death and resurrection, was glorified (Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-11). A further difference between Jesus and Moses is that God never promised that anyone would share Moses’ eternal salvation by following him, but Jesus is able and willing to share His glory with those who follow Him (Rev. 3:21).

Finally. Just as many followed Moses and were loyal to the Law, we should be determined – to be loyal to – our Lord Jesus Christ and the revelation that came through Him. If we fail to do so, we are in greater danger than those who failed to listen to Moses’ words (Heb. 2:1-4).